Lindsey: Otherwise Engaged is a novel about a young couple, Molly and Gabe, and the tumultuous countdown to their wedding day. Right after Gabe proposes marriage, his debut novel is published — a salacious retelling of his love affair with his ex-girlfriend Talia. And then Talia shows up on the scene. Meanwhile, Molly’s first love turns back up, too. Even as the couple starts planning their wedding and future life together, these distractions and temptations from the past put a serious strain on their bond. Otherwise Engaged explores what happens when the past collides with the present and everything you were sure of is called into question.

Joyce: What inspires your book ideas?

Lindsey: In the case of this book, I was initially inspired by the intensity of planning my own wedding. I am not a gifted party planner, to say the least, and even with a ton of help (mostly from my very dedicated and competent mother!), I found the process very overwhelming. It put a lot of stress on my relationship, right at the moment when we were looking ahead to committing to each other for good. When I chatted with friends, I found that this experience was quite common. So, I was interested in exploring a couple in this stage of their relationship — and seeing what happened when the stress was amped up even more. What could be more stressful than your partner publishing a thinly veiled romance novel about their ex — and then both of your exes returning to the scene?

Joyce: What distracts you the most when you’re trying to write?

Lindsey: My toddler! Instagram! The perceived need for more coffee! The interesting conversation happening at the table next to me! The dishes that must be washed this very instant! So … pretty much everything.

Joyce: Do you write by the seat of your pants, or do you carefully plot your stories?

Lindsey: I wish I were a careful plotter, but whenever I’ve tried to map out a story ahead of time, I never stick to the plan. Usually when I start a project, I have a general idea of the main characters and the main conflict, but beyond that I’m making it up as I go along, chapter by chapter, and sometimes even sentence by sentence. This inevitably results in lots of revisions — but I vastly prefer editing to writing, so that’s all right with me!

Joyce: Is there a TV show that you’ve recently binge-watched?

Lindsey: Some recent faves have been The Americans, The Crown and Schitt’s Creek. The protagonist of Otherwise Engaged shares my love for binge television; in fact, she’s a member of a binge-TV club (which was once a book club) called “Netflix and Spill.” I always love good TV recommendations — please send me yours on my Facebook page.

Lindsey: Before noon, coffee. Between noon and five, chocolate. After five, wine.

Joyce: Do you have a pet that hangs out with you while you’re working?

Lindsey and her adorable editorial assistant, Emilia.

Lindsey: Nope, but my daughter sometimes does!

Joyce: What’s your ideal scenery while you’re writing?

Lindsey: The view through the front window of my favorite local café to the street. I sit at the counter and people-watch … and occasionally write, too.

Joyce: What’s coming next?

Lindsey: I have a few ideas percolating! One is a novel about a high school from the staff’s point-of-view. I taught high school English for several years, which was by far the toughest, most stressful job I’ve ever had. The daily drama — among the students, the staff, the administration and the parents — was often so extreme as to seem unbelievable. We’ve all been to high school as students, but I think it would be fun to draw on my teaching experience to explore this world from that different perspective. I’m particularly interested in the kind of moral slippage that can happen when people are under extreme pressure.

Joyce: Thanks, Lindsey!

About Otherwise Engaged:

Life is sweet for New Yorkers Molly and Gabe: They’re young, in love, and newly engaged.

But when Gabe sells his first novel—a thinly-veiled retelling of his wild love affair with ex-girlfriend Talia—and it becomes a national sensation, Molly can’t help but feel like the third wheel. To make matters worse, Talia reappears in Gabe’s life, eager to capitalize on the book’s success and to rekindle what she had with Gabe… at least, that’s how it seems to Molly. But even more concerning? Gabe doesn’t seem concerned at all. Instead, he’s delighting in his newfound fame and success.

Jealous, paranoid, and increasingly desperate, Molly starts to spin out of control. Her social life, work life, and love life all go to pieces. As fact and fiction, and past and present, begin to blur, Molly realizes the only way out of this downward spiral is to fight her way back up. But what—if anything—will be left of her life and her relationship when she arrives?

Perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty and Jennifer Weiner, Otherwise Engaged explores the life we seek when the life we have… suddenly goes down the drain.

About Lindsey

Lindsey J. Palmer is the author of two previous novels, Pretty in Ink and If We Lived Here. She worked as features editor at Self and previously at Redbook and Glamour. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, she earned a master of arts in English education from Teachers College, Columbia University and taught high school English for several years. Nowadays she’s a scriptwriter at BrainPOP, an animated educational site for kids. Lindsey lives in Brooklyn, N.Y., with her husband and daughter.